Navy says goodbye to USS Miami in tribute

KITTERY, Maine — The Navy bade a dignified, traditional, fond farewell on Friday to the ill-fated USS Miami in a decommissioning ceremony that was purposely one of celebration and not sadness.

Deborah McDermott

KITTERY, Maine — The Navy bade a dignified, traditional, fond farewell on Friday to the ill-fated USS Miami in a decommissioning ceremony that was purposely one of celebration and not sadness.

The Miami, a decorated Los Angeles-class attack submarine, sustained an estimated $700 million in damage after a Portsmouth Naval Shipyard worker set fire to her in May 2012. The Navy scrapped repair plans in August 2013, citing budget constraints.

“This is a tribute, a celebration of the ship's performance, and that's how we're going to treat it,” said Rear Adm. Ken Perry, commander of Submarine Group 2 in Groton, Conn. “So I expect to see a few smiles.”

Among those attending the decommissioning ceremony at the shipyard were the Miami's first commanding officer, retired Capt. Thomas Mader, nine of her former commanding officers and current Cmdr. Rolf Spelker.

Perry told the guests, which included the crew of the USS Miami, that the submarine left service too soon; 10 years before she would have been decommissioned. But from the time she was launched in 1988 in the “vanguard” of nuclear fast-attack subs to the time the Navy decided to inactivate her, the Miami served proudly and with distinction, he said.

He ticked off the USS Miami's many exploits in seas around the world, including “back-to-back combat operations” in both Iraq and Serbia, making the Miami the first submarine since World War II to work in two theaters one right after the other.

The Miami has earned meritorious unit commendations, expeditionary medals and is the first submarine to have won the coveted Battenberg Cup, given by the Navy to what is considered the best ship in the fleet.

“She earned the reputation 'the big gun,'” said Perry.

Perry said as the Miami is inactivated, a process that remains ongoing, parts of her have been sent to other submarines, including its propeller shaft, pumps, valves and electrical components.

“Those parts are fueling our fleet today,” he said.

Spelker commended his crew, saying, “there is a special bond that exists between a sailor and his ship.”

But he admits that bond “hasn't come without a cost. There are many nights away from your family, many missed anniversaries, birthdays and holidays, but that's all routine for submariners.”

In one of the few references to the Miami's untimely end, Mader said the officers and crew “have weathered some uncertain times, and you've proven your metal by rising to the challenge. There's no reason you can not expect fair winds and following seas in your new assignments.”

The decommissioning ceremony is steeped in Navy tradition, and Friday's service was conducted in that time-honored mode. At the conclusion of remarks, the commissioning pennant was retired and the ship officers one-by-one reported the ship is ready for decommissioning.

Finally, and to great and prolonged applause, the crew of the USS Miami departed — one-by-one.

Spelker said later some of the crew has already left the shipyard for other assignments, another portion will leave in October, and the final members of the crew will leave in December.

The Miami is still being inactivated, and that process will not be completed until spring 2015, said Spelker. Inactivitation costs will be $54 million, he said.

After the Miami is inactivated, she will be taken to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, where she will be scrapped.

In March 2013, former shipyard worker Casey Fury was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for setting fire to the Miami, after pleading guilty to two counts of arson. He admitted to setting the blaze, citing a desire to go home early and an anxiety disorder as reasons for his actions.

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